Chicken Manicotti

Emily, this recipe was made for the freezer. It's designed to make two...one to cook up for dinner and one to freeze for later, but it does make a lot so you might even get away with splitting it in thirds and freezing two. We have also frozen successfully sloppy Joe's, the meat mixture for taco salad, taco soup, and burrito filling (Bean Burritos in Mandy's cookbook p.41). I'm also going to post a Italian bread recipe, as most bread freezes well, and a white chili recipe that should freeze well also.

Chicken Manicotti

1 T garlic powder
1-1/2 lbs boneless chk
16 uncooked manicotti shells
2 jars 26oz each spaghetti sauce, divided
1 lb bulk Italian sausage, cooked and drained
½ lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
4 C shredded mozzarella cheese
2/3 C water

Rub garlic powder over chicken; cut into 1 in strips. Stuff chicken into manicotti shells. Spread 1 cup spaghetti sauce in each of two 13-in x 9-in x 2-in baking dishes. Place eight stuffed manicotti shells in each dish. Sprinkle with sausage and mushrooms. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over the top. Sprinkle with cheese. Drizzle water around the edge of each dish. Cover and bake one casserole at 375 for 65-70 minutes or until chicken juices run clear and pasta is tender. Cover and freeze remaining casserole for up to 1 month. Yield: 2 casseroles (4 servings each).

To use frozen casserole: Thaw in the refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature for 30 min. Bake as directed.